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(No Model.) s Sheets-Sheet; 2. 0. P. DARNELL. VOTING APPARATUS.

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1. M I J. J, z J WW /WM N v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CALVIN F. DARNELL, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

VOTING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 563,361, dated July 7', 1896. Application filed April 13, 1896, Serial No. 587,393. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CALVIN F. DARNELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Voting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in voting apparatus; and it consists of a folding or collapsible booth and a ballot-box-supporting table of peculiar construction, and will be hereinafter more particularly described, and pointed out-in the claims.

The object of this my invention is to provide a voting-booth of one or more compartments that can be rapidly folded into a compact form to be packed in a small space when not required for use and, at the same time, capable of being unfolded and erected with facility and rapidity when required for use, and also to provide a collapsible or folding table, the leaf or. top portion whereof is of a chest or box form and the two sections of which are adapted to be folded, one upon the other, to form a case or box in which to inclose the folded booth and the separable parts thereof, and also the removable legs of the table; also, to provide said table with suitable removable ballot-boxes, to which latter are attached counters or registers and a suitable enunciator, by which means the number of votes cast are registered and an alarm is sounded simultaneously with the action of casting avote in the box. I attain these objects by means of the voting and balloting -apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which similar numbers of reference designate like parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a front view of a voting-booth composed of three voting or ballot-preparing compartments. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the ballot-box table. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 6 is an inverted plan view of the same. Fig. 7 is a transverse plan view of the same, taken through the lines A B, see Figs. 4, 5, and 6. Fig. 8 is a broken-off detail view of a portion of the balloting-table, showing the lid of the ballot-box. Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section of the same, taken through the line C B, see Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a detail inverted plan view of the ballot-box lid, showing the slotcover, counting mechanism, and enunciator. Fig. 11 is a detail perspective sectional view of the ballot-boxes telescoped one within the other ready to be packed in the inclosing case formed by the table-top. Fig. 12 is a detail broken view of a portion of the votingbooth, showing the manner of connecting the ballot-preparing table to the back and separating partitions of the booth; and Fig. 13 is a detail broken sectional plan view of the same.

The ballot-preparing booth consists of the three compartments 1, 2, and 3, formed by the folding back pieces 4., 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, which are hinged together and to the separating partition-pieces 10 and 11in such a manner that they fold one over the other into a compact form ready for transportation or to be packed or stored away ready for future use.

The ballot-preparing tables 12 of the end compartments 1 and 3 of the booth are supported at their outer ends by the removable supporting-brackets 13, which are pivotally and removably held by supporting-eyes 14, secured inany suitable manner to the folding backs 4i and 9, and said tables are supported at their inner ends by extending said ends into recesses formed in the inner sides of the partitions 10 and 11, said tables held rigidly in position against said partitions and said folding backs by the catch-hooks l5 engaging the eyes 16.

The table 17 of the inner compartment 2 has its ends extending into the recesses formed in the partitions 10 and 11, and said ends abut the ends of the end tables 12, and are held in position therein by the end hooks and eyes 18 and 19, similar to the end hooks and eyes or catches 15 and 16.

The screen-supporting wires 20 are removable and are supported in the eyes 21, which are secured on the partitions 10 and 11, and the end folding backs 4 and 9 of the booth, and on these are suspended suitable curtains or screens, (not shown,) preferably of a textile fabric, which completely hide the voter from Too observation. It will be also observed that the screen or curtainsupporting wires 20 and the tables 12 and 17 all unite to rigidlyhold the booth in proper position and form.

The balloting-table it composed of two top pieces 22 and 23 of a hollow box form and are hinged together to fold or close in the di-- rection as shown by the arrows in Fig. 7, to form an inclosing case, in which to pack the booth when folded as well as the other portions of the balloting apparatus. The sup-. porting-legs 2% of the balloting-table are removably secured to the inner corners of the latter by the angle-straps 25, and said legs are also inclosed in the case formed by the fold-. ing top of the balloting-table.

The ballotaholding boxes 26 are rectangular in form and are formed withthe top flanges 27, by which said boxes are supported in the ballot-box-receiving openings formed .in one of the sections of the ballot-boX-supporting. table, and each box is provided with lids 28, which fit into said openings formed in said section of theballoting-table and are secured therein by suitable locks, two to each lid, each of said locks being preferably difierent and requiring a different form of key, which is provided for the purpose of preventing tampering with the ballot-boxes. Ialso provide the slot-covers 29 for covering the slot-openings atthe under side of the lids of the ballotboxes, and which are adapted to slide between the guides 30 and to be operated manually from the outside of the said lid by means of the finger-button 31, which is securely attached to the sliding cover. The sliding covers 29 are held closed against their stops 32 by means of suitable tension-springs 33. The bell 34: is operated by the arm 35, connected with said sliding cover in such a manner as .to contact with the lever of the bell to cause an alarm to be sounded on the slightest movement of said covers 29. I also provide suitable counting-wheels 36 and 3'7, which are operated by a suitable pawl 38, secured to the sliding cover to move therewith, and is adapted to engage the teeth of the pawl or. ratchet-wheel 39 to move the same one tooth for each reciprocal movement of said slides.

The pawl or ratchet-wheel is preferably provided with ten teeth, and this wheelis se-rj cured on the primary counter-wheel 36 of one tooth. Thus as the smaller counter-wheel makes one rotation the larger wheel 37 will rotate through the distance of one tooth, thereby making the secondary wheel a mul tiple of ten. The inner faces of each of the wheels are provided with numbers corre% sponding to the number of teeth in said wheels, and said numbers vare read through suitable openingsaO, formed in the ballot-boxj lids. I provide the spring-retaining pawl 4:1 for the purpose of engaging the ratchet-1 wheel of the counting mechanism for the pur-' pose of preventing a backward movement of the mechanism, and to secure aproper regis tration of the number of votesdeposited.

When it is required to fold up the entire apparatus into a small compass for transportation, the tables 12 and 17 and the curtaincarrying wires of the booth are removed therefrom, and said booth is folded up, as shown by the direction of the arrows in Fig. 3, the legs 24 of the ballot-box-supporting table, and the ballot-boxes 26 are also removed and telescoped, as shown in Fig. 11, and these together with .all the other parts of the apparatus are placed within the fold- .ing case top of the balloting-table, and the latter is closed and securely fastened by a suitable lock. The lids of the ballot-boxes are now replaced in position intheir recesses in the table and locked therein, and the entire apparatus is now ready to be stored away for future use when required.

Having thus described the nature and object of this my invention, what I claim as new and useful, and desire to cover by Letters Patent of the United Statestherefor, is'

1. A collapsible voting-booth havinga series of separate compartments each compartment composed of a suitable folding hinged back and a separating-partition hinged to each of said backs, in combination with compartment-tables removably secured in said compartments top screen-wires connecting said folding backs and said partitions, all substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

2. A folding balloting-table composed of two folding box-sections hinged together, to form an inclosing case and provided with suitable supporting-legs removably secured thereto, in combination with a series of ballotreceiving boxes .removably secured to said table, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. Inaballoting apparatus the combination with a supporting-table having its top divided into two folding box-sections one of which is cut out to receive the balloting-boxes 26, suitable inclosing lids adapted to fit in said openings and removablysecured therein said lids provided with slot-openings, covers on the inner sides of said lids coveringsaid slots, means whereby said covers may be operated to uncover said slots from the exterior of said lids, a suitable alarm mechanismand CALVIN F. DARNELL.

Witnesses THOMPSON R. BELL, FRANCIS M. SPRINGER.

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